Car-coupling stem.



W. McCONWAY, JR.

CAR COUPLING STEM.

APPLICATLON men MAY7. I915.

Patented Aug. 31, 1915.

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WILLIAM llIoCONWAY, J11, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSEGNOR T0 IJEGGONWAY & TORLEY COMPANY, OF PITTSBURGH, SYLVANIA.

PENNSYLVANIA, A COEPORA'EIGN OF PENN- CAR-COUPLING STEEL Application filed May 7, 1915.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, WILLIAM MGCONWAY, J12, a citizen of the United States, residing at Pittsburgh, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Car-Coupling Stems; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to the construction of stems for car couplers, and particularly for passenger car couplers in which the coupler head and stem are not integrally united. It is especially applicable with advantage to the construction of the stems of passenger couplers such as are designed to be capable of swinging laterally under the control of centering mechanism and in which the coupler head is pivotally or detachably mounted on the stem.

Coupler stems of the type to which my invention relates are composite or built-up structures, comprising top and bottom plates or bars between which one or more fillers or spacing members are riveted or bolted. The rear end of the stem is commonly formed with a vertically extending hole which is adapted to receive a tail-pin through which the coupler may be connected to the yoke or other part of a draft rigging in the usual or any desired manner. The top and bottom plates or bars are wrought iron while the filler riveted between them is usually a casting. It has long been the practice to construct the rear end of these stems by forming a lug on the inner face of each of the bars, the two lugs being of equal height and hearing against each other when assembled with the filler member or members to form the completed stem. Each lug was formed by building up on each of the plates or bars of the coupler stem two flat pieces of wrought iron, heating the three pieces to a welding heat and then welding them together in a forging machine. The top and bottom main plates with the lugs thus formed thereon were then drilled as required and riveted together with the filler between them. Coupler stems as thus formed commonly fail under tensile stress by transverse rupture of one or the'other or both of the main plates or bars at a point substantially coinciding with or slightly in advance of the junction 1 Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 31, 15515.

Serial No. 26,548.

of the lug with the main plate. By constructing a coupler stem in accordance with my invention this weakness is overcome without the necessity of increasing its dimensions, which can not well be done, and a coupler stein which is approximately thirty per cent. stronger than the old and commonly used form is produced while the cost of manufacture is at the same time lessened. W hen subjected to tensile test a coupler stem embodying my invention fails at the forward eye for the connection of the coupler head and shows no tendency to fail at the rear end, which has hitherto been the weak point of coupler stems of this general type.

The objects of my invention, it will thus be appreciated, are to increase the strength and to cheapen and simplify the manufacture of car coupler stems of the character indicated.

In the drawings illustrating my invention, the scope whereof is pointed out in the claims.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a coupler stem embodying my invention, the usual tail pin and well-known yoke or spring-pocket of the draft rigging to which it is commonly connected being shown in dotted lines. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the coupler stem shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a detail section on the line 3-3, Fig. 1.

In carrying out my invention the rear ends of the top and bottom main plates or bars 1, which are prefeiubly of wrought iron, are formed on their inner faces with upset portions or lugs 2 forming forwardly facing shoulders 3 which are respectively adapted to engage corresponding rearwardly facing shoulders l on the filler member or spacer casting 5. By making the lugs 2 comparatively low or of a moderate height the fibrous structure of the wrought metal of the main plates 1 is not distorted to an extent causing any substantial or practical weakening of the structure.

At its rear end the filler 5 is integrally provided with an extension 6 which projects rearwardly from the shoulders i and fills the space between the inwardly proecting upset portions or lugs 2 at the rear ends of the main plates or bars 1.

The filler casting 5 which is interposed between and engages the inner faces of the main plates is preferably secured to the latdraft rigging devices the rear end of the stem is preferably formed with a vertically extending aperture 8 which is adapted to receive a tail-pin.

Except as otherwise pointed out in the claims the form of the main plates or bars and the form of the filler member are not material.

I claim:

1. A coupler stem having a plurality of bars and a filler member interposed between said bars and secured thereto, the rear end portion of each of said bars having an inwardly projecting lug, and said filler member having a rearwardly extending portion which is interposed between and engages said lugs.

2. A coupler stem having a plurality of bars and a filler member interposed between said bars and secured thereto, each of said bars having an inwardly projecting lug, and said filler member having shoulders engaging the forward faces of said lugs and having a rearwardly extending portion which is interposed between and engages the opposed faces of said lugs.

3. A coupler stem formed of a plurality of wrought iron bars and a cast metal filler member engagingly interposed between and secured to said bars, each of said bars having at its rear end an n set inwardly projecting lug, and said filer member being formed at its rear end with rearwardly facing shoulders which respectively engage the forward faces of said lugs and being also provided with a rearwardly extending portion which is interposed between the opposed faces of said lugs.

In testimony whereof I afliX my signature.

WILLIAM MGCONWAY, J R.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). C. 

